The House on Cold Hill

They said the dead can't hurt you.... They were wrong. The House on Cold Hill is a chilling and suspenseful ghost story from the multimillion-copy best-selling author of Dead Simple, Peter James. Moving from the heart of Brighton and Hove to the Sussex countryside is a big undertaking for Ollie and Caro Harcourt and their 12-year-old daughter, Jade. But when they view Cold Hill House - a huge, dilapidated Georgian mansion - Ollie is filled with excitement.

My Sister's Bones

Kate Rafter is a successful war reporter. She's the strong one. The one who escaped Herne Bay and the memories it holds. Her sister Sally didn't. Instead she drinks. But when their mother dies, Kate is forced to return to the old family home. And on her first night, she is woken by a terrifying scream. What secret has Kate stumbled upon? And is she strong enough to uncover the truth...and make it out alive?

How to Be a Vigilante: A Diary

It's 1998. The Internet age is still in its infancy. Google has just been founded. Eighteen-year-old supermarket shelf-stacker Nigel Carmelite has decided that he's going to become a vigilante. There are a few problems: how is he going to even find crime to fight on the streets of Derbyshire? How will he create a superhero costume - and an arsenal of crime-fighting weaponry - on a shoestring budget?

Little Deaths

It's the summer of 1965, and the streets of Queens, New York, shimmer in a heat wave. One July morning, Ruth Malone wakes to find a bedroom window wide open and her two young children missing. After a desperate search, the police make a horrifying discovery. Noting Ruth's perfectly made-up face and provocative clothing, the empty liquor bottles and love letters that litter her apartment, the detectives leap to convenient conclusions, fuelled by neighbourhood gossip and speculation.

SEED: A Novel of Horror and Suspense

Mark fears that his wife is cheating on him. Over the past couple of weeks, she has been growing more and more distant and shudders at his very touch. Determined to keep his new marriage afloat, he confronts her only to find the truth of the situation is far more horrific than he could have ever envisioned.

Only the Innocent

When billionaire philanthropist Sir Hugo Fletcher is discovered murdered in his London home, tied naked to a bed, the scandal is only a shadow of the darkness lurking off-camera. Laura Fletcher returns from an Italian vacation to find her home under siege by paparazzi. Is she shocked? Yes. But is she distraught? Not exactly. Chief Inspector Tom Douglas reveals his suspicions that Hugo’s killer is female. The deeper Douglas digs, the more sordid details he uncovers.

Safe with Me: A psychological thriller so tense it will take your breath away

Thirteen years ago someone did something very bad to Anna. Now it's her turn to get even. Anna lives a solitary existence, taking solace in order and routine. Her only friend is the lonely old lady next door. She doesn't like to let people to get too close - she knows how much damage they can do. Then one ordinary day, Anna witnesses a devastating road accident and recognises the driver as Carla, the woman who ruined her life all those years ago.

Kill Someone

Here are the rules. Method: you can't use a gun. You can't use explosives. You can't use poison. It has to be up close and personal. You don't have to worry about leaving evidence; that will be taken care of. Victim: no one suicidal. No one over the age of 65. No one with a terminal illness. Choose your method. Choose your victim.

The Outrun

At the age of 30, Amy Liptrot finds herself washed up back home on Orkney. Standing unstable on the island, she tries to come to terms with the addiction that has swallowed the last decade of her life. As she spends her mornings swimming in the bracingly cold sea, her days tracking Orkney's wildlife, and her nights searching the sky for the Merry Dancers, Amy discovers how the wild can restore life and renew hope.

The Woman Next Door

Two suburban women. Two dark secrets. The almost perfect murder. Everybody needs good neighbours.... Melissa and Hester have lived next door to each other for years. When Melissa's daughter was younger, Hester was almost like a grandmother to her. But recently they haven't been so close. Hester has plans to change all that. It's obvious to her that despite Melissa's outwardly glamorous and successful life, she needs Hester's help.

Little Girl Lost: DS Lucy Black, Book 1

Midwinter. A child is found wandering in an ancient woodland, her hands covered in blood. But it is not her own. Unwilling - or unable - to speak, the only person she seems to trust is the young officer who rescued her, Detective Sergeant Lucy Black. Soon afterwards, DS Black finds herself moved from a high-profile case involving the kidnapping of another girl, a prominent businessman’s teenage daughter.

The Crow Girl

It starts with just one body - tortured, mummified and then discarded. Its discovery reveals a nightmare world of hidden lives. Of lost identities, secret rituals and brutal exploitation, where nobody can be trusted. This is the darkest, most complex case the police have ever seen. This is the world of the Crow Girl.

The End of the World Running Club

Do the impossible or lose your family forever.... Edgar Hill, unsympathetic husband and halfhearted father, finds himself in a hopeless situation. Despite all his best efforts, he hasn't managed to keep his family together. In fact they are further from him than ever - 550 miles, to be precise. And in a world near annihilated by a terrible disaster, leaving the UK harsh and brutal, uncrossable by car or bike, his journey to find his loved ones will be fraught with challenges.

Extracted: Extracted, Book 1

In 2061 a young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world. A desperate plan is formed: recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future.

The Physics of the Dead: A Supernatural Mystery Novel

The afterlife doesn't come with a manual. In fact, Hart and Bowler (two ordinary but dead men) have had to work out the rules of their new existence for themselves. It's that fact (along with being unable to leave the boundaries of their city center, unable to communicate with the other lost souls, unable to rest in case The Beast catches up with them) that makes getting out of their situation a priority. But Hart and Bowler don't know why they're there in the first place; if they ever want to leave, they will have to find all the answers to be able to understand the physics of the dead.

HEX

Whoever is born here is doomed to stay until death. Whoever comes to stay never leaves. Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th-century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Blind and silenced, she walks the streets and enters homes at will. She stands next to children's beds for nights on end. So accustomed to her have the townsfolk become that they often forget she's there. Or what a threat she poses.

Necro Files: Two Decades of Extreme Horror

Spanning over 20 years, 20 masters and modern authors of hardcore horror share their most bad-ass stories in this special edition from Comet Press. Many hard to find and out of print, some that were banned, Necro Files covers every imaginable mode of mayhem including serial killers, necrophilia, cannibals, werewolves, zombies, sex fetishes, psychopaths, snuff, occult, and more stories that dial into the dark side of human nature.

Year's Best Hardcore Horror, Volume 1

Editors Randy Chandler and Cheryl Mullenax put the call out to horror writers and editors of extreme stories, the hardcore stuff that breaks boundaries and trashes taboos, the transgressive tales you can't "unread" (as Chuck Palahniuk says). Some of the stories you'll find here are loaded with very graphic descriptions of violence, sex, and depravities, while others may contain only one shocking moment of brutality. In others, the hardcore aspect may be less graphic and subtler than you might expect.

Publisher's Summary

Warning: This is an extreme horror novel. There is gore. There is bad language. There are scenes of a sexual nature. But hidden underneath it all is also a chilling story. Please do not purchase this book if you are easily shocked, disgusted, or offended. This book is not for you.

Would you give up your child if a stranger asked? No? What if they offered money? Still no? What if they threatened the rest of your family? Give your child up or lose your entire family in the most horrific way possible. What would you do? How would you protect those you love and at what price?

An ordinary family is up late one night, kept awake by the terrible storm, when there is a knock at the door. A stranded and wet couple ask to use the phone to call a recovery service for their broken down car. The family invites the in the strangers, who seem very taken with the five daughters of the house.

This is the start of what turns into a nightmare for the titular family. It escalates pretty quickly from the merely creepy to extremely nasty. And it’s pretty effective, mostly, to the extent that I was annoyed when work forced me to stop listening at a crucial point.One for fans of splatterpunk and torture porn.

There were problems however. The prose in general is a little clunky, with a constantly shifting POV - a more limited POV from one character would have made this a lot better. There’s quite a lot of repetition in the prose, the dialogue, even the violence. One eye-gouging is shocking; using it twice diminishes the effect.

The narration is very good. Chris Barnes’s steady delivery works well with the gruesome subject matter to the extent that he became almost invisible, serving the story and bringing the characters to life.

Overall, the story was quite fun, but could have been better – I most likely wouldn’t have read this to the end in any other format. The narration saved it, injecting character and compensating for a lack of care in the writing.

When I first read the story I described the pacing as a linear construction of tension followed by an exponential ride through a scene of madness, torture and gruesome acts of dispicable nature. Finally the story brings the reader to a chilling and slightly saddening conclusion that will leave you panting for breath. This pacing is not lost in the audiobook and you will find yourself stopping whatever else you are doing whilst the story takes hold of your thoughts.

What did you like best about this story?

Is this not a repeat of the above question? I guess I'll give another reason that I liked the tale. As a parent, this is more than a nightmare. I cannot imagine a day when I will ever stop worrying about my girls or ever stop experiencing parent guilt. You know, that feeling where your kids are stuck in your thoughts and you worry that they need something from you whilst you're not there. Many parents would say that they'd rather die than make any of the choices offered in this book. But what if the choices were 'horrible' or 'really horrible'? What if death wasn't an option put on the table? How would you deal with that situation? I defy any parent not to hug their kids tightly after reading this.

Have you listened to any of Chris Barnes’s other performances? How does this one compare?

How do you make a Matt Shaw tale even darker? Get Chris Barnes to read it. His gritty scottish tongue amplifies the steadily dominating sense of dread that Shaw worked so hard to create. The mannerisms that Barnes gives to his interpretation of the antagnonist is terrifying. You really get a sense that the bad guy has no awareness of his own evil and has almost childlike thought processes. Think Marc Warren as Mr Teatime in 'The Hogfather' and you'll get what I mean. This was highlighted most when I heard the line: "Waste not, want not". Pure horrifying evil. I have never had the pleasure of experiencing a performance by Barnes before. However, based on this production, I'll be sure to try some of his other audio books.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I finally had the chance to find a quiet spot in the lab, put my headphones on and project strong "LEAVE ME ALONE" vibes to those sat around me. I have never had to stop what I was doing for an audiobook before. Having read the book previously, I knew what was coming and I wanted to experience how those sequences were performed. This is not a book you can dip in and out of. It'll grab you by the short and curlies and accelerate you into a gruesome scene of madness and terror. Do not listen to this story (at least the second half) in bed, unless you like insomnia.

My favourite audiobook of all time is Librivox's version of Moby Dick. This is a close second. Congratulations Shaw and Barnes; I rate you almost as highly as a classic work of literature. You should be very proud of yourselves.

Any additional comments?

A confession, My name is James Hudson and I commisioned this novella from Matt Shaw as a christmas gift to my wife, Cathy. I can forgive you if you believe my opinion is biased, heck, I'd think the same thing too. I have tried to approach this review as a fan of audiobooks who is new to the dark world of Shaw and Co. I just want to assure you that I have had nothing to do with this particular production and saved up my monthly credit when I heard it was coming out, to purchase the audiobook. Therefore, as a paying customer, I believe my opinion is as valid as the next person.

This audiobook was so good I didn't want to stop listening! I finished in only a few sittings. This was so...insane. My only issue is that it's a bit misleading. This is NOT a horror novel. In no way is it scary. However, it's thrilling, and that works wonders for the book! Oh also, it starts off a bit slow which annoyed me at first, but then I realise it's to give the family some character development. I LOVE THIS BOOK.

I was dubious about getting an audiobook with a Scottish narrator, but so glad I did. I found it a gripping, tight horror/thriller with good characters and no pointless padding. I couldn't stop listening, which is rare for me. Highly recommended for fans of modern horror. Plus the narration was first class.

This is another amazingly twisted book from Matt Shaw. A nasty thunderstorm wakes the entire family one night, so they all gather in the living room to calm everyone down. A stranded couple sees the lights are on and decide that is the house to ask for help. Would you let them in your house to use the phone to call for help? Seems like the nice thing to do right? I can honestly say that I don’t think I will ever open my door to a stranger after dark again after listening to this book. This is every parent’s worst nightmare come true. And it’s not entirely unbelievable. Watch the news. You see tons of people who think they are entitled to something just because they want it. What is to stop them from believing they can adopt a child just because they ask? Do you think someone like that is going to take no for an answer?Chris Barnes is easily one of my favorite narrators. He always breathes life into the story, and makes it a pleasure to listen to. He also narrates my favorite genre, so it’s a win – win for me :)

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Dawnzilla

Arlington, Texas

25/02/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Realistically Terrifying"

To me, the best kind of horror novel deals with situations that could happen in real life. My Family is one of those kinds of books.

During a particularly nasty thunderstorm, Jeff and Dawn show up on Cathy and James's doorstep after their car breaks down. James, being the nice guy he is, invites the couple into their home, allowing them to use the phone to call for help. The couple immediately shows an interest in Cathy and James's five children. Luckily, help comes soon enough and Jeff and Dawn head out. The next day, Cathy and James are approached by the two strangers who want to adopt two of their children because they can't have kids of their own. They try to convince the parents that five kids it's just too many. Of course, Cathy and James refuse the offer and that's when their lives take an unimaginable, dark, and twisted turn.

My favorite audio book narrator, Chris Barnes, brings this disturbing tale to life and his narration can only be described as chilling. His passion for narration combined with the intensity of the story comes through in every word, and the saying, "Waste not, want not" will never be the same again.

This is another excellent tale from Matt Shaw that combines a well-thought out story with excellent characters and scares you won't soon forget.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Jared

30/11/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"A disappointment"

The best thing I can say is that Cris Barnes brings his usual excellence to the table in this book. Aside from that the book is slow to get on with itself and never reached anything close to what matts other books attained. Not even sure what went wrong to be precise, it just want very good.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Kate

30/07/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great and just the right type of Morbid!"

Great Plot and great twists with the perfect ending! Great narrator who told the story well.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

LaLa7501

31/05/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Decent"

The storyline was pretty good....I believe you could encounter crazies, if you're crazy enough to open your door at midnight! The narrator was good also. My problem was the warning.... The book doesn't need it. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be after reading the warning. It's pretty short too....but overall good for a quick read.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

trixie

11/03/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"My family"

Any additional comments?

Lots of suspense, although the main characters made many mistakes. The bad guys were exciting. I kinda wished for a more triumphant ending. . I enjoyed listening to this audio book overall.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

med c

10/03/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"My Family"

What did you love best about My Family?

The story starts a little slow in the beginning, but the author has to introduce us to the members of the family. Then there is building some mystery and tension. When you get hooked up with the story, it really will take you to the thrilling part.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Linda

st peters, MO, United States

29/01/17

Overall

Performance

Story

"Dumb"

Wtf not horror just dumb a waste of time. Nothing else to say but to submit the review I didn't have enough words. There is diffidently nothing else to say about the story

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Wanda

Florida

13/03/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Horror? I think not."

The story line made sense for a phyco but I have read much much worse so what is being hailed as horror is mild. I received this free for an honest opinion

2 of 5 people found this review helpful

Chuck

Philadelphia, PA, United States

22/06/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Warning: This book isn't worth buying"

I expected big things from this book. I purchased it so save the credit on a short book. I wish I had saved the money to ball it up and throw it away instead. The storyline is original-ish but I didn't find it Horror-worthy. Skip this.

0 of 2 people found this review helpful

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